Comments for (un)doing (in)equalityhttp://www.marybethhastings.org
Perspectives on sexual and reproductive rights, gender, U.S. power, and global advocacyThu, 26 May 2016 18:06:13 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.1Comment on Overtime and Social Justice by hastings.marybeth@gmail.comhttp://www.marybethhastings.org/overtime-and-social-justice/#comment-14
Thu, 26 May 2016 18:06:13 +0000http://www.marybethhastings.org/?p=57#comment-14Thanks so much for your comment. That’s very upsetting about the different ways nonprofits can avoid paying a living wage (or keep time demands at 40 hours/week). There are so many issues I didn’t cover here that won’t be helped by an overtime rule, as well – like sexual harassment, family leave, etc. Nonprofits shouldn’t be held to lower standards than businesses – they should be held to a higher standard because they (or at least many of them) are about creating a more just society. Foundation donors should emphasize this more – that may be one thing that will help.
]]>Comment on Overtime and Social Justice by Jason Farrhttp://www.marybethhastings.org/overtime-and-social-justice/#comment-13
Thu, 26 May 2016 17:55:57 +0000http://www.marybethhastings.org/?p=57#comment-13I love this post, but I fear that these regulations may not be nearly as transformative as many seem to think. I work for a Washington, DC based medium-sized nonprofit whose leadership was quick to assert that we are not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Some guidance in a brief on the overtime final rule and the non-profit sector (http://tinyurl.com/z6deqbb) states the following on qualifying organizations: “There are two types of coverage: The FLSA may apply to (1) businesses or similar entities (“enterprise coverage”) or (2) individuals (“individual coverage”). Under enterprise coverage, the FLSA applies to businesses with annual sales or business of at least $500,000. For a non-profit, enterprise coverage applies only to the activities performed for a business purpose (such as operating a gift shop or providing veterinary services for a fee)*; it does not apply to the organization’s charitable activities that are not in substantial competition with other businesses. Income from contributions, membership fees, many dues, and donations (cash or non-cash) used for charitable activities are not counted toward the $500,000 threshold. ” We along with many other nonprofits do not qualify for enterprise coverage.

While I’m currently arguing that some staff qualify for individual coverage, there is a great deal of pushback on this. The same brief states the following regarding individual coverage: “Under individual coverage, employees may be entitled to FLSA protections if they themselves are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce. For example, an individual is covered if the employee makes or receives interstate telephone calls, ships materials to another state, or transports persons or property to another state. This individual coverage applies even if the employee is not engaging in such activities for a business purpose. For example, if an employee regularly calls an out-of-state store and uses a credit card to purchase food for a nonprofit that provides free meals for the homeless, that employee is protected by the FLSA on an individual basis, even though the non-profit may not be covered as an enterprise. The Department, however, will not assert that an employee who on isolated occasions spends an insubstantial amount of time performing such work is individually covered by the FLSA.” Despite the fact that some staff seem to engage in these activities, the organization is stating that this portion of their work is not an integral part of their job, and they are therefore not qualified (I disagree entirely). My interpretation of this also leads me to believe that the canvassers you mentioned working for U. S. PIRG (an organization I interviewed with after college for a position paying $23,000 per year to live in Chicago and that I fortunately did not get) as well as that younger version of yourself who spent a summer canvassing, still will not qualify for overtime.

To your point about young women benefiting from this, it just so happens that our president is a man, the leadership team consists solely of three men, I myself am a man making slightly more than the $47,476 threshold, and all of the individuals who might stand to gain from this ruling are, in fact, young women. Perhaps I am wrong and many nonprofits will have to change their practices, but, unfortunately, it seems to me that the celebrations started early.